The new Honda Civic Sedan epitomises driving happiness on four wheels

A couple of weeks ago, when reviewing the new Ford Focus, I suggested that it had to match the Volkswagen Golf and the Mazda3 for driving pleasure.

Well, you can add another nomination to that list with the new Honda Civic Sedan. This week I have been in the 1.6 Civic Sedan diesel and would now class it a genuine contender and a worthy addition to that group.

This is the 10th edition of the Civic, and Honda has made an array of changes to their saloon model. Most notably they have comprehensively modified its 120 PS 1.6 litre i-DTEC diesel engine for Honda Civic range and now you get a terrific mixture of performance and efficiency in one package.

Honda chiefs say that this engine upgrade was built to deliver an athletic response and agile feeling for the driver. Greater refinement through precision technologies and lower levels of NOx emissions have been attained to make it a better car to drive and kinder to the environment.

Overall fuel consumption has been paired back along with improved CO2 emissions of just 91g/km, resulting in an annual road tax bill of €180, when equipped with the six-speed manual transmission. My fuel consumption figure over 1,200 kilometres came in at an impressive 5.1L/100km.

Inside, there is a lot to love about the driving position and the levels of equipment. It is lower and more engaging than some of the more mundane cars in its class. I particularly like the higher positioning of the gear lever that is close to hand and is slick through all six gears.

Space for passengers is helped by the longer wheelbase and the 519-litre boot space is more than adequate too. You can add more by folding the 80:40 rear seats even though it is a saloon. Overall you get the impression that this is a far bigger and more sophisticated car than it should be.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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